Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Freshman at PSU this season after training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for his last year of HS. Sounds like Joe maybe taking a similar path this season

The question really is does Nick start immidiately due to being the best option or maybe the only option to make the weight for weight class? Or can everyone else in the light weights cut to the optimal spot and be competitive so he can red-shirt?

I know he's itching to contribute and would be competitive this year, but I'd like to see him redshirt due to the career he could put together over the following 4 years.

I think Sanderson is still mauling that one over. And he still maybe playing around with light weight lineup options for some of this season. I wouldn't be suprised if a few people shift around in the lightweight lineup as the season continues nor if Sanderson considers pulling a redshirt in order to optimize his lightweight lineup for NCAA's.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I remember hearing someone suggest last year he should start the next two years in case he wanted to take an Olympic redshirt year in 2020. Not sure if that’s what he and Penn State would want to do, but I think it would be cool to see him start as soon as possible and still try to make a run at the Olympics.

Of course, PSU is still likely a top-2 team for the next 4 years whether Nick redshirts this year or not.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the answers. So I'm guessing he'll redshirt this season then start next year.

I was under the impression that he could use his redshirt whenever he wanted to and he could also use the olympic redshirt in addition. So he could have 2 redshirt years.

He can use the "normal" redshirt any year but it is a decision the coaches are involved with. The Olympic redshirt obviously can only be used during the Olympic year but he must qualify for it. Olympic redshirts are not common.

That means a wrestler has 5 years to wrestle collegiatley in 4 of those years. An Olympic redshirt gives you 6 years to wrestle 4 years.

Regarding the OP, to my knowledge this year is his first year collegiatley.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

It was my understanding that the initial plan (and reason for going up there last year) was to wrestle this year and plan a hopeful Olympic redshirt in 2 years. As often plans do, they can change. I have no idea if anything has changed or not, so he could still red shirt this year. If he competes to wrestle this year, it appears his primary competition would be Jared Cortez, a transfer from Illinois, I believe.

Note regarding the "initial plan"... that came from a 2nd hand source and one I feel is reliable. But it did not come directly from anyone in the Lee family.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Type of Redshirts"Normal" Redshirt- Can be taken any time for any reason. Most are done freshman year, but there are many cases of them being taken later on. Wrestlers cannot participate in duals or on the "team roster" at an individual event during this time.Injury Redshirt- This will be given if the wrestler has not used the normal redshirt and the wrestler only participated in X% of events. I believe it is something like 25%, but don't hold me to it. You cannot take an injury redshirt and a normal redshirt*.Olympic Redshirt- The NCAA has cracked down on bogus Olympic redshirts by setting criteria for this. The criteria is basically qualifying for the Olympic Trials or being a past World Medalist. Here is the link to the criteria for 2016 http://content.themat.com/forms/2016-Olympic-Redshirt-Criteria.pdf

*6th Year- Normally wrestlers have 5 years to complete 4 years of eligibility. Wrestlers can get a 6th year if they take a normal or injury redshirt, then get an Olympic redshirt. They can also get a 6th year based on injury if they can prove they missed a significant portion of the season due to injury in two separate years. Lastly, they can get a hardship waiver and redshirt such as Jason Tsirtsis did. That one seems very hard to get and I can't remember it being used ever until Tsirtsis' situation.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Anyone care to explain what happened in the Jess Settles situation? He was a Iowa basketball player in the nineties who played three full seasons, one partial season (3 games), then sat out a full season, then played another full season. So he played 4 full seasons and one partial season spread out over six basketball seasons. I always was confused by that one.

I understand the partial season (injury) but why was he allowed to sit out an additional season? I guess that "6th year" injury rule applied.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Think Mark Hall last year. Will redshirt and wrestle in open tournaments unless there is a need to pull the shirt. Rumor has been flying around that Nick handled Cortez in wrestle-offs. But that could be one match, or exaggerated (a la the telephone game). Sanderson said they would prefer to redshirt.

Both Nick and Joe are listed as registered for the Clarion Open tomorrow (Sun 11/5). There are a handful of other Penn St - unattached guys, so I'm guessing they may be there. Joe is listed as Unattached - Unaffiliated. I heard something about a rule change this year allowing HS wrestlers to compete in open tournaments? No clue if that is accurate, but if Joe is wrestling tomorrow it must be. Just don't know the details.

Edited November 5, 2017 by SWINfan

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Yes the NCAA adjusted their ruler to allow HS wrerlers to compete against college athletes at these Open events. I would fully expect Joe to take advantage of this rule in order to get some added competition.

As for Nick I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit to help his team out, but taking the redshirt is useful too. A redshit should lets him get more of the class load out of the way, build more college level strength, and develop more as a wrestler in order to make a great 4 year run in the future. Plus, with PSU being this stacked he will be helping his team make a title run for several years to come. But if they do pull his red shirt I’m sure it’s will be very similar to Mark Hall where Sanderson realized he needed someone else to ensure the team title also knew that’Hall was capable of winning an individual title.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Not so great of luck for both. Joe lost 19-8 to Alex Klucker in the Semi's, falling to three 4-pt tilts along the way. They wrestled high a lot and Joe got a headlock for a take down but couldn't convert into back points. He lost 2 more of those battles and fell into tilts both times.